Liberty Men's Tennis Sweeps Home Opener

The Liberty Flames men's tennis team won their home opener at the Sports Racket Saturday night, defeating Lynchburg College in convincing fashion, 7-0.

The evening began with a surprising change. Due to various circumstances, Liberty's opponent for the evening was changed at the last moment. Planned opponent Southern Virginia was not the foe for Liberty, but rather, it was the team from Lynchburg College.

Once the actual competition began, Liberty got off to a quick start. Jarda Trojan and Chad Simpson won their third straight No. 1 doubles match, and Sebastian Pena and Luis Olivera followed with a victory at No. 2 doubles. Doubles play concluded with the Flames' Fabricio Picanco and Franco Valdez winning the No. 3 match by an 8-1 score.

Liberty's sweep of singles competition was highlighted by a Picanco straight-set win at No. 3 singles, as well as a Juan Reyes win at No. 6. Neither Picanco nor Reyes dropped a single game on Saturday. With the victory, Liberty has already equaled its win total from last season.

The Flames, now 2-1 on the young campaign, continue their schedule on Friday, as they travel to Boone, N.C., to take on Appalachian State. Match time is scheduled for 2 p.m.